


shards

by fandomtrashiness



Category: Blood Drips on Newsies Square (1991), Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Al used to self harm, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Amputation, Charlie is a cyborg btw, Child Abuse, Corrupt Governement, F/F, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Imprisonment, M/M, Medical Torture, Past Child Abuse, Race also has adhd and anxiety and depression and gender dysphoria, Race has dyselxia, Rebellion, Revolution, Santa Fe, Snyder is fucking awful, Superhero Au!, Superheroes, Superpowers, The Refuge, Torture (once again not too graphic), Transphobia, Violence (not too graphic but still), X-Men References, albert centered fic!, albert has fire powers, and quite a bit of anxiety, because he's really into food, but sarah is super nice and helps him, davey has a stutter, davey sarah and les are jewish, death is mentioned, hes a mess, i love race, jack has electricity powers, jack is jewish, kath is jewish, lots of jews because i'm very jewish, lots of x-men references, mentions of medical torture, mike and ike are jewish, most of the characters are Jewish, race breaks the fourth wall, race has dyslexia, race has super speed, race is also the designated cook, race is jewish, romeo can read minds, sarah and davey are power twins, specs is jewish, spot has water powers, spot is jewish, trans!race
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2020-02-26 10:26:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 5,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18715165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomtrashiness/pseuds/fandomtrashiness
Summary: It is the year 2030. Society has collapsed and fallen to the mercy of a corrupt political system. The leader of all of this chaos, president Joseph Pulitzer, has officially declared that all individuals born with superpowers must give themselves up to the government and register themselves as "shards". All shards are sent to the Refuge (run by Warden Snyder), a facility where shards are experimented on and used for their abilities. Albert Snyder has spent all 16 years of his life living and working in the Refuge, along with his father (Warden Snyder) and brother (Oscar Snyder). His job is keeping the shards locked away, but what will he do when he discovers that he is a shard himself?





	1. Albert

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to my new fic! chapter titles are character pov for the chapter.

I’m running, that’s all I know right now. One minute I’m just sitting at my desk, going through some files, and the next my older brother is chasing me. So naturally, I started running. And now I’m running through the facility, past the white walls and glass cell doors, my brain working at lightspeed to try and figure out what I did. My brain comes up empty-handed.

I sneak a look over my shoulder, and see that Oscar is gaining on me.

Shit.

“Nowhere to run, shard.” Oscar growls.

I turn my head back around and find that yes, there is indeed nowhere for me to run, due to the fact that I am standing in a corner.

“Why are you calling me that?” I ask, trying not to let my anxiety seep into my voice.

“Because it’s what you are.” Oscar says, his voice sharp and biting.

Why is my brother such a dickhead?

“Did one of the prisoners knock you out with their powers again?” I ask.

“Cut the bullshit.” He says. “I saw you this morning.”

Fuck.

“And what exactly did you see?”

“Don’t play dumb.” Oscar sneers. “You know just as well as I do, Fireboy.”

I need to get out of here.

Now that someone knows, I’ll just be thrown in a cell and experimented on until I die.

Wow, that’s bleak.

True, but bleak.

“Right. So, I’ll just go…” I say awkwardly, scuffing the toe of one of my boots against the concrete floor.

“I don’t think so.” Oscar says, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

I tense my shoulders and ball my fists, ready for a fight, but suddenly Oscar’s stun gun is pointed directly at my face.

Not good.

************

Now that I’m awake, I realize I was unconscious.

And now that I’m awake, I realize that my wrists and ankles are bound together tightly with rope and Oscar is holding me over the river by a fistful of my hair.

“Scared I’m gonna bust out of one of your fancy cells and kick your ass like you deserve?” I ask.

“I don’t want people know I’m related to a disgusting shard like you.” Oscar says harshly, and with that, my hair no longer feels like it’s being ripped out of my skull, but instead like the wind is rushing through it.

Oh, that’s because it is.

Oscar let go of me, and I’m thrashing around as I fall through the air towards the river.

My body hits the water at full force, and I hear a crack.

Water is surrounding me, ice cold and biting against every inch of my skin, and it’s rushing into my ears, nose, mouth, and clothes.

I can’t breathe, I can’t move, I know I’m about to die.

I try to summon up the same heat from this morning, that same spark in my lungs, but I can’t.

Because you can’t set fire to water.

There are spots dancing in front of my eyes now, and my head is pounding.

I’m about to die.

I try to scream, but it only fills my throat and lungs with more water.

I don’t want to die, I really don’t.

But I can’t really change that, can I?

There’s no way I can save myself, Oscar made sure of that.

The last thing I see is a bright light, nearly blinding.

And then everything is black, and the world is dead.


	2. Race

“What’ve we got?” I ask Spot as he trudges into the infirmary, dragging a soaking wet body behind him.

“Is he breathing?” Specs asks, rushing to take the person from Spot.

“I dunno know.” Spot says. “I just found him in the front yard.”

“Shit.” Specs lays out the person on the cot and starts cutting away ropes that bind his wrists and ankles. “It looks like someone was trying to kill him.” He comments.

I step closer as Spot steps away, and the person appears to be male. He has red hair and freckles, with a black eye to compliment his beautiful features. His face looks like it was carved from marble, smooth and polished. He doesn’t move at all, but then I see his chest rise and fall slowly in one shaking breath.

“He’s alive.” I confirm. “Specs, can you heal him?”

“Yep.” Specs says, tying his dirty blond hair up into a messy knot.

He places his hands on the boy’s chest, and exhales deeply, closing his eyes as he does.

The boy’s eyes open immediately, and Specs collapses into my arms. I gently lay Specs down on his couch and press the blue circle on my watch to signal my friends to come.

“What’s up?” Jack asks, jogging inside with Spot.

“We got a new one.” Spot huffs.

“What’s up!” Les says, bounding into the room, a bright smile on his face.

“W-where am I?” The newly awakened boy asks, sitting up and looking all around him.

“Welcome to Santa Fe, pal.” Jack says, smirking slightly.

“S-Santa Fe?” The boy asks, his voice breaking. “N-no… no!”

“It’s okay.” I say. “We were scared too. But it’s okay, you’re safe here.”

“What’s going on?” Charlie asks, pushing past Romeo and Finch to see what’s happening around the cot.

He stops as soon as he sees the boy, his mouth open wide.

“Why is he here?” Charlie demands. “WHY DID YOU LET HIM IN HERE?!?”

Charlie’s hands tighten into fists, and his chestplate starts beeping.

“Char, what’s wrong?” Jack asks, putting his hand on his friends shoulder.

Charlie flinches away at the touch, something he hasn’t done in years.

“Alright fucker, who are you?” Jack asks, his hair suddenly standing on end.

“I’m A-Albert.” The boy says softly.

“He’s got a goddamn name tag.” I snarl, looking down at his wet shirt and seeing a piece of plastic pinned to it. “He’s one of them.” I rip the tag away from the fabric, and squint to see the swimming letters.

Fucking dyslexia.

“What’s it say? Who is he?” Les asks anxiously.

I manage to decipher the word, but I don’t like it at all.

“Snyder.” I practically growl, letting the tag fall from my hand.

I run out of the room to grab rope, run back, and tie Albert up before the tag even hits the ground.

“You have one minute to explain yourself. Go.” I say sharply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapters are gonna be kinda short for a while, but i promise they'll get longer


	3. Charlie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> crutchie's perspective for a chapter! in which crutchie punches an asshole who deserves to be punched!
> 
> WARNING: there is a homophobic slur used in this chapter. i star it out to censor it, but please be warned.

I can’t believe it.

I can’t fucking believe it.

It’s been four years since I’ve seen his face.

Four fucking years.

Four years since I was in that cell, praying for death.

Four years since the heavy metal cuffs locked around my wrists.

Four years since the cold metal table, the tight restraints.

The pain.

The screaming.

Being dragged back to my cell by  _ him _ , the boy sitting in front of me right now.

“M-my father is Warden Snyder.” Albert says, trembling. “I work at the Refuge, b-but then my brother threw me in the river.”

“Why?” Les asks, and I grab him by the arm and pull him away from the cot. I don’t want him anywhere near someone with the name Snyder.

“I-I’m a shard?”

“Is that a question, bub?” Spot asks, crossing his arms.

I always laugh at Spot when he says “bub”, but not right now. How am I supposed to laugh at a stupid Wolverine joke when he’s sitting right there?

“N-no… I’m a shard. This morning, or yesterday, or whatever I was just making my rounds and then Warden yelled at me and went away and then my fingertips caught on fire and my brother apparently saw and he shot me and threw me in the river.” The words tumble out of his mouth like a waterfall, but I don’t feel bad for him for one single second.

“Why do you call him ‘Warden’? Isn’t he your dad?” Davey asks skeptically. I was so distracted I didn’t even realize Davey was here.

“He’s…” Albert hesitates for a moment. “He only lets people call him ‘Warden’ or ‘Sir’.”

“Is his name Warden? Or is that his title? ‘Cause-” Davey starts babbling.

“Dave. You’re nervous.” Jack says. “Also, his name is Nigel.”

“Nigel? How do you know that? And what kind of-”

“Dave, deep breaths, okay? There’s no bear chasing you.”

Someday I will learn the secret language of anxiety battling that Davey and Jack share. But for now, I will tell Albert to go fuck himself.

“Go fuck yourself.” I tell Albert.

“Listen, Charlie, right?” He says.

“You don’t get to call me that.”

“Morris, I-”

“No.”

“Crutchie?”

“Call me ‘Sir’ see how you like it.” I spit.

“I’m sorry.” He says, looking down at the floor.

“Well that fixes everything!”

“You don’t have to forgive me, but please understand! I was twelve! What was I supposed to do?”

“I was twelve too, motherfucker!”

“You don’t get it!” Albert says, clearly trying to get to me. “I couldn’t let another escape, not after my first one got away!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Warden said he trusted me enough for my first real job, he let me be in charge of one of the shards. He escaped, and you were my last chance! I had to keep you cuffed, I had to keep you weak, I couldn’t fail him again!”

“But you did fail.” I smirk. “I got out!” I feel like I have the right to gloat.

“Punch him in the face.” Spot says.

“Good idea.” I nod.

This asshole deserves it, he has it coming, after four years of nightmares he can handle one puny punch.

I curl my fingers into a fist, pull back my arm, and give him a black eye to match the one already on the right side of his face.

“I’m sorry, Sir!” Albert screams, shutting his eyes tight. “I’m sorry! Just give me one more chance!”

Is he still talking to me?

“It’s not my fault! It was Sullivan, it was the f*g! He’s the one who got him out! Please!”

Now it’s Jack’s turn to start freaking out, and just like me he flinches when Spot tries to touch him.

“We’re killing him.” I say decisively.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what will happen next? what is hiding in albert's past? will they actually kill albert?
> 
> just a note, albert's redemption arc is gonna be SLOW. i've decided to untag ralbert, because if that happens it will happen for an epilogue and i honestly have no clue how long this fic is gonna be.


	4. Spot

I look into Jack’s eyes, but they’re blank. He’s standing still, just staring at the wall.

Shit.

“Charlie, as much as I agree with you, he’s probably got information. Or we can use him as a hostage at the very least.” I say, managing to tear my eyes away from Jack.

“Didn’t he say he got kicked out of the Refuge?” Romeo pipes up.

“He’s lying.” I say simply. “This right here,” I gesture to the quivering Albert, “Faking.”

“He’s not though, I can tell.” Romeo says, stepping forward.

“Romeo, I know you can read minds, but-”

“Spot, shut up and listen to me.” Romeo says.

I shut my mouth.

“I can feel him.” Romeo continues. “Not in a gay way, I’m only gay for Finch, but in an mind-reading way. He’s in pain.”

“Probably ‘cause I punched him.” Charlie smirks.

“Once again, mind reading.” Romeo says. “He’s not lying, everything he said was true. But that last part, about… about… well we all heard. It’s something from his past, something he’s had yelled at him a million times. He… oh shit. Fuck.”

“What?” I demand.

“I still hate him, but he’s been through some shit too. Turns out it’s not easy having he-who-must-not-be-named as your pops.” Romeo says. “The nightmare-y thing some people get with the flashbacks and shit? He’s got that. We gotta help him.”   
“I’m not helping him.” Charlie says crossing his arms. “Not after what he said.”

“Spot?” Romeo asks, his voice full of hope.

I only glare at him.

“I guess it’s my job then.” Romeo sighs, crossing the room to Specs’s supply table. He grabs some shit and fumbles around with it (I understand nothing medical, all I know is that needles are bad) before turning back to Albert and inserting something in his arm.

Albert passes out immediately.

“That asshole. He has no right to say shit like that.” Charlie grumbles.

“I should’ve let him drown.” I say.

“What’s going on?” Les asks, and I notice his eyes are brimming with tears.

“This jackass works at the Refuge.” Charlie says, kicking at Albert’s leg. “When I was in there, he was in charge of me. He’d keep me chained up all the time, and just drag me around the halls. His dad’s the one that did this to me.” He gestures to his legs. “I escaped though. When Jack broke Race and Spot out, I was with them.”

“Al said someone named Sullivan helped you escape though.” Les says innocently.

“First off, we’re not giving him a nickname. He’s not Al, he’s Snyder.” Crutchie snaps. “And Sullivan is Jack.”

“Why’d he call him the f word though? Isn’t Jack too tough to be bothered by that?” Les asks.

“I’m not tough, Les.” Jack says in a gravelly voice. “I’m weak. Snyder’s right, I’m just a weak little-”

“Shut up, Jack.” I interrupt, trying to keep my voice level.

“What’s up?” Specs says enthusiastically, suddenly jolting awake and jumping up off the couch. “Why does everyone look so sad? What happened?” He asks, his face falling fast. “I swear, I pass out and then suddenly-”

“I accidentally saved a Snyder.” I say.

“Snyder?” Specs’s eyes widen, and he quickly fumbles around for a weapon. He grabs a pillow from the couch.

“Not  _ the _ Snyder, but  _ a _ Snyder.” Davey clarifies.

“Fuck.” Specs says, his fingernails digging into the pillow. “Fuck.”

“Can’t we just make a fucking decision?” I ask impatiently.

“Conlon, you’re being too loud.” Jack whispers.

He’s right. Fuck. I get loud when I’m nervous or stressed, which isn’t always super helpful when Jack starts having a freakout. I get worried about him, and then I start yelling at people which doesn’t help Jack at all.

“Shit, I’m sorry Jackie.” I say hurriedly, running my hands through my hair.

“Don’t-don’t call me that, Conlon.” Jack stammers.

What?

“He’s gonna find out you’re like me, and that I care about you, and then it’ll just be worse for everyone. So shut it, Conlon. Be a fucking man.”

Jack’s voice is cold and hard, a version I know well.

He’s not here in Santa Fe, he’s back in the Refuge.

But what do I do about that?   
“Jack,” Race starts to say, but Jack only shoves him.

“Get outta my way, idiot.” He growls.

And then he’s gone, out the door.

Fuck.


	5. Albert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a flashback! ooh!
> 
> WARNING: violence and child abuse

_ Hits rain down upon me, and I writhe and scream as each one falls. _

_ “Please!” I plead. “It wasn’t me! Give me another chance! It’s not my fault!” _

_ The Warden pauses, lifting me up by my shirt collar. _

_ “Really?” He asks. “Then whose fault was it?” _

_ I can’t think of an answer, I just want an end to the pain, but it doesn’t matter. He answers his own question. _

_ “Sullivan.” He growls. _

_ And now he’s barrelling through the hallways. dragging me behind him, and we reach the room. _

_ The one I’m not allowed in, the one with the door without a handle or lock or anything. _

_ The Warden puts his hand flat against the metal, letting his palm press against the door. _

_ There is a small clicking sound, and it suddenly swings open. _

_ He doesn’t let me in, just leaves me outside as he steps inside the room. _

_ I can hear screams through the door, haunted and pleading. _

_ A strangled cry, and I can barely make out the words. _

_ “Santa Fe!” _

_ Almost a mantra, the boy is chanting it over and over. _

_ I’ve never seen the Francis Sullivan that the Warden is always going off to experiment on, but I’ve read his file. I can recall it perfectly, as if my brain thought it would be useful to me someday. _

 

**SULLIVAN, Francis**

**Possesses the ability to manipulate electric currents. Born January 18, 2013. Parents are deceased. Is reckless and has no respect for authority. Has pain tolerance, but only to a certain extent. Legally owned property of the Refuge.**

_ The rest was DNA charts and such, stuff I don’t really understand. _

_ I can hear more screaming and yelling from within the room, and I know whatever the Warden is doing can’t be good. He runs the Refuge, and he hates all shards, but for some reason he hates Sullivan most of all. _

_ I drag my bruised body towards the wall and lean against it, trying to breathe. _

_ Everything hurts. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will be happier and be up soon


	6. Race

Jack’s brain is doing something I happen to know quite well: imagining things.

You see, when Jack freaks out, his brain takes him back to his time in the Refuge. He sees everything as his past, and it’s not really a fun thing to go through. You’re probably concerned, dear reader, that Jack called me an idiot, but there really is no cause for concern. Back in the Refuge, Jack didn’t want Spider to know he was close with us, so he shoved us away. That way, Spider wouldn’t torture us to get to Jack. It worked, but only for a few of us. But it worked with me, and Jack would basically just shout the shit everyone else did at me to make it work. Spider thought he hated me, I was safe from more torture than usual.

It didn’t work with Crutchie, but that’s another story.

His story.

Anyways, thinking about the Refuge for too long makes me depressed so I’m not gonna think about that anymore.

Instead, I’m going to make dinner!

Yeah, making Jack’s favorite dinner will cheer him up for sure.

Am I trying to convince myself of that? Maybe.

So I start preparing my famous matzah ball soup.

Now you’d think I would want to use my super speed to cook meals because making homemade matzah ball soup takes a lot of hours. But my soup always tastes best when I don’t use my speed, so I make it the long way. Jack will need some time to be alone in his room, and by the time the soup is ready he’ll be ready to talk.

I go to the kitchen, put up a pot on the stove, and get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is really short and i don't really like it but i wanted to update


	7. Davey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a davey chapter! our wonderful boy dave has a stutter, and he gets a lot of anxiety over it, but sarah is always there to help him!

I hate having to be in charge. It’s too stressful trying to make decisions for everyone, especially when my head is already swarming with anxiety in the first place. But Jack left, Race left, Charlie’s chest is beeping, and Specs is still barely conscious. I suppose that Spot is still here, but he has retreated into “tough guy mode.”

“Alrighty, f-folks!” I say, trying to sound as cheery as possible. “E-everyone can go back to wh-whatever they were doing b-before, but Kath, Saz, Char, Spot, and Ro, c-can you s-stay behind for a few m-minutes?”

I hear a few grumbles of assent before the room starts clearing.

“What are we gonna do?” Romeo asks.

“Y-you and K-Kath are going to t-take Snyder down to an empty room and g-guard him until he w-wakes up. I figure the two of you are the b-best for that job.”

“Keep ‘im tied up.” Spot grunts, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Chain him up.” Charlie says casually, picking some dirt out from under his fingernails. “Unless you’ll just let me kill him now?”

“We’re not k-killing anyone.” I say firmly. “Charlie, I w-want you and Spot to go up t-top and make sure th-that Snyder’s n-not trying to set a t-trap.”

“Fine.” Charlie says, swiftly turning on his heel and leaving, Spot in tow.

“K-Kath, Ro, take Snyder.” I direct, and the two lift the boy into their arms.

They leave the room with him, silent.

“And I’m guessing I’m here to help you, little bro?” Sarah asks, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Y-yes.” I say.

“You were great, you know.” Sarah says, leading me out of the infirmary and into the hallway. She continues repeating encouraging words to me until we get to our room, the one we share. She helps me sit on the bottom bunk of our bunk bed, her bunk, and she helps guide me through my breathing exercises.

“I-I tried, Saz.” I gasp. “B-but-”

“Hey, Dave, it’s okay. You did great. Better than I could’ve done. The fact that you still push through even though you’re scared, that makes you the strongest motherfucker here.”   
“Th-thanks, Saz. But I-I’m n-not as s-strong as J-Jack.”

“Don’t even.” Sarah says. “Comparisons are unfair.”

“R-right. S-sorry.”

“No apologizing, remember?”

“F-fuck you.”

“Fuck you too.”

A simple “fuck you” is always how Sarah and I thank each other. When she helps me through a panic attack or I help her with her migraines, we always show that we’re feeling back to normal with “fuck you.” Thankfully this freak-out was short, and right when Sarah and I are back to laughing about some stupid joke, Race peeks his head through the door to ask us to help him chop up more carrots for matzah ball soup.

I smile and link arms with my twin, the two of us skipping off to the kitchen while Race reminds us that we "can’t eat all of the carrots ourselves" because "other people like carrots too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> davey and sarah's love for carrots is modeled after my love for carrots


	8. Jack's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've been gone a while... but i'm back!
> 
> Jack's pov

Something bad is about to happen.

First Snyder finds out what I did for Charlie, then Spot makes the mistake of talking to me, and now my arms are sparking again.

Snyder is sure to take out his anger on me, I haven’t done a single thing right all day.

And I deserve it, I guess.

Especially because I still can’t control my powers.

And less control means more tests.

The static electricity is making the hairs on my arms stand up, it will be easy for Snyder to see that my powers are acting up.

Shit, the cell door opens again.

Fuck.

I muster up some fake confidence as a figure steps through the doorway.

“This is getting boring, Spider. Blah blah blah, same deal every day. Y’know, if you need any tips on how to be a sadistic villain, don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Jack…?”

“Since when are you nice, Spider? Saying my name for once.”

“I’m not Snyder, Jack.”

I blink a few times.

It’s Race.

“H-how long was I out?”

“An hour or two?”

“I hate this.”

I get flashbacks.

Where suddenly I’m in the Refuge again being tortured and experimented on and it seems real all over again.

“I know, Jack. I made soup.”

“Spot back?”

“Yeah. We’re all eating, c’mon.”

I don’t want to go to the mess hall and act like everything is normal.

I’m obviously not fine but I have to pretend to be fine for their sake.

My brothers and sisters, those who narrowly escaped the clutches of the government.

I can’t let them get hurt, and if I show weakness they’ll get worried and then get hurt.

“Thanks.”

I throw on a smile.

And go eat soup like I’m fine.

Like nothing happened.

But everyone knows.


	9. Race

I hate when Jack gets flashbacks.

Now that dinner is done I have to actually think about my feelings, which sucks.

And my feeling is that I hate when Jack gets flashbacks.

It’s not his fault, but I hate it.

I hate that he calls me an idiot.

He’s doing it to protect me, and I know that, but I hate it.

You see, that’s what he called me in the Refuge.

He had to pretend he hated me so Snyder wouldn’t hurt me to get to him, so he called me names.

Idiot, dumbass, shit like that.

Because of my… other superpowers.

My mental illness.

My dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and gender dysphoria.

I was dealt a shit hand at the poker game of life.

Oh yeah, I’m also a gambler. And I smoke.

Jack saved my life.

But I can’t stand his flashbacks.

He’s the one who helped me accept my shit hand, who helped me develop my poker face, who helped me realize that I don’t deserve to be called a tr*nny by Snyder.

He befriended me in the Refuge, then as my friend was mean to me.

It worked, Snyder wasn’t as mean to me because he thought Jack didn’t like me.

Snyder is creepily obsessed with Jack’s suffering.

But it sucks.

Once Jack broke us out of the Refuge and we founded Santa Fe he promised he’d never be mean to me again.

He promised.

A Jack Kelly promise is as good as gold, which makes me wonder why he’s still mean.

I hate when Jack gets flashbacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so i'm giving up on consistent updates. its one in the morning. hopefully a new chapter soon. happy holidays everyone!


	10. Albert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> albert's pov! extra special thanks to Specs_is_an_icon for helping me! check out her fics!

I wake up wearing wrist and ankle cuffs. I’m sitting in a chair in an empty room. The walls are painted with green trees, red flowers, and blue skies.

“Good morning.” A girl says.

She has long curly red hair and is sitting in a chair across from me.

“Hi.” I say dully.

“So you’re Albert Snyder?” She asks.

“Yeah… I didn’t mean to come here-”

“Well you’re here now. I hear you tortured my best friend?”

“I-I had to. You don’t get it-”

“Do you like your father?” She asks.

“What? I-”

“He doesn’t seem like a good father.”

“Why’s that?”

“He tortures kids. Doesn’t seem like a good person.”

“How do you know what happens in the Refuge?”

“I have my sources.”

“Were you in there? Are you an escapee?”

“I’ve been there, but I was never a prisoner.”

“What? That’s not-”

“My father and I took a tour. He was a large supporter of the Refuge.”

“Hearst? Is your father Hearst? And you’re here, so obviously you’re a shard.”

“I am a shard, you’re right. We all are here. My father… my name is Katherine Ethel Pulitzer.”

“Oh… your dad is the president. Who made shards illegal.”

“And I’m a shard, so he hates me. I didn’t know for a while. I was raised like you. Believing that shards aren’t human. When I discovered I was a shard, I went crying to my dad, I was so upset. He tried to lock me away, I escaped. Found Santa Fe.”

“Wow. That’s quite the story…”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re telling me because...?”

“I know what it’s like to have a horrible father.”

“Okay, but you didn’t torture anyone. I did, you know I’m a monster. I’m not exactly worth your life story.”

“I-I did. Don’t tell anyone. When I was a kid I had a… pet. Father got it for me for my birthday. I didn’t want it…”

“It was a shard.”

“A shapeshifter. Listen, we all make mistakes. Tell me what you did to shards in the Refuge.”

“I really was only supposed to do paperwork and intimidate them. And I’m not very intimidating. I was in charge of a shard before Charlie. She escaped. I begged Warden for another chance, he gave me one. Keeping Charlie in check. I was scared, I hated the beatings! So I kept Charlie in chains all the time. It wasn’t my fault he was in pain, Warden just really liked him.” It all comes out in one strained breath, and it feels strangely freeing to let it out.

“Did you- were you the one to mess up his legs?”

“No! He had polio, his leg was already fucked up.”

“That’s rude to phrase it like that.”

“Warden deemed him useless, but then got the idea to chop off his legs and make him a cyborg. It wasn’t me who did it, I just took him back and forth between cell and experimentation room.”

“In chains.”

“Y-yes. It was overkill, but I couldn’t fail again!”

“Again?”

“I was in charge of one before. She escaped. Warden beat me for it, threatened me endlessly.”

“Who escaped?”   
“She could shrink and grow at will.”

“Smalls!”

“You know her?”

“Yeah. She lives here.”

“Oh, uh…”

“Yeah.”

“You had a shapeshifter you said? As a kid?”

“My dad thought shards weren’t human. Got me one as a pet to emphasize the point.”

“You played with it?”

“Yeah… I would make him turn into all sorts of things.”

“And they accept you? The people here?”

“They don’t know. I haven’t told them yet.”

“How old were you?”

“Eight.”

“Not really your fault then. That’s how you were raised.”

“I had him until I ran away. I was eleven. Don’t know what happened to him.”

“Refuge.”

“Do you know him?”

“He cried a lot, annoyed Warden. I never met him.”

“But he’s still there?”

“Yeah.”

“If I could get him out… right some wrongs…”

“That’s what you do here? Get to safety then risk it? Sullivan really is an idiot.”

“Sullivan?”

“He goes by Jack Kelly.”

“We stay here most of the time, but we do try and rescue as many shards as we can.”

“Where is this place?”

“The Refuge. Did you beat up kids?”

“No. Paperwork mostly.”

“Earlier you called Jack a f*g. Why?”

“That’s what Warden calls him. He screams a lot, all he says is Santa Fe. Warden hates him. Warden- He beat me when I failed. With both shard. I tried to tell him it was Sullivan’s fault! He broke them out, he did-”

“So your own father beat you? And you call him ‘Warden’?”

“He only lets employees call him ‘Warden’ or ‘sir.’ Sons included. I have two brothers, but they don’t get beat as much. They beat kids, so they’re not disappointments. I don’t have the balls to hurt people.”

“You brothers aren’t shards, then?”

“Just me. I found out like a day ago. Oscar saw apparently…”

“So he tried to kill you.”

“Yeah. Embarrassed to have a brother that’s a shard. Why do you care? I tortured Charlie-”

“You didn’t really have a choice. That doesn’t make it right, but-”

“You saw the way Charlie looked at me. My name says it all. Snyder.”

“I’m a Pulitzer. Am I my father?”

“You’re a shard, that’s different.”

“So are you.”

“I kept Charlie in chains. Made his life Hell.”

“I had a shard as a pet. We’ve both done some horrible things. It’s how we were raised. It’s not right, but it’s about how we carry on. How we let our pasts define our futures. Our actions and reactions are built from our experiences, and we choose what those actions and reactions are. You can stay here and become a better person. We’ve done bad things. What’s important is that we use our strength now to help the world and fix our mistakes. You can help take down the system that breaks us apart, help defeat our fathers! I know you don’t want to hurt people.”

“I-No one’s ever given me a chance… Been nice to me like that…”

“Get used to it. It will take time, but people will start to trust you. You just have to earn it. I’ll help you.”

“Thank you, I-”

“I’m here for you. Pulitzer to Snyder.”

“Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed! next chapter hopefully soon and i think its gonna be charlie and al talking. once again, check out Specs_is_an_icon on ao3 and read her work! shes awesome and helped me write this chapter!


	11. Charlie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of self harm, torture, medical torture, a bunch of shit.

Recon was fine.

Shitty as usual.

No traps found, just bleak despair of an apocalyptic society.

Dinner was fine too.

Matzah ball soup.

Spot and Jack cuddle while they eat.

Race sits in silence, contemplating his soup.

Katherine sits with Romeo and Smalls.

Davey and Sarah are laughing.

Les plops down next to me.

“Kath thinks you should bring Albert soup.” He says innocently.

“Not happening.”   
“She says-”

“I don’t care. He tortured me.”

“He tortured you?”

“Yeah. Told me awful things about Jack… Said Snyder loved hurting him the most…”

“Oh.”

“You don’t have to worry about that Les.”

“Kath still wants you to bring him soup.”

“I won’t.”

“You said everyone has a story.”

I hate when Les is right.

He’s barely ten and sometimes he’s smarter than me.

“Fine.”

I take a bowl of soup and carry it to the spare room.

“SHit-fuck-” Albert flinches.

“Shut up, I brought you dinner.”

“My hands are cuffed.”

“Now you know how I felt. You would hand me stale bread, say eat, and I’d be cuffed.”

“I’m sorry.” He says.

For I second he sounds sincere.

“Why did you do it? A kid with a bum leg, a kid your age. You kept him chained up all the time, told him his older brother was being tortured beyond imagine.”   
“I-I was scared to fail. Warden was going to beat me if I failed, and you were fighting, I was scared-”

“I had fucking polio!”

“I didn’t beat you.”

“You told me how much your father loved Jack. My older brother, my hero. How he loved to just hurt him hour after hour.”

“I was being honest. I don’t like being lied to.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? That was torture! And then when my experiments-”

“That wasn’t my idea. I told Warden to just let you go. I told him you wouldn’t survive long on your own and you barely had powers so it didn’t matter. He almost let you go. Then he had the idea to do… that.”

“Butcher me, yeah.”

“I told him not to-”

“He chopped off both my legs. The good one too. Replaced them with robot legs, implanted a metal octopus into my chest.”

“And I’m sorry about that. I really am. You didn’t deserve it, no one in there deserved it. It was how I was raised. He was my father. I was taught from birth that shards deserve to be tortured and dissected like objects. If I thought anything against that, my father would beat me. I learned through you that Warden was wrong. I saw you, and I looked into your eyes and I could tell you were human. Are human. I couldn’t beat you, couldn’t do anything worse than the chains. My brothers were beating their prisoners, I couldn’t. I was weak. I memorized files then cut my wrists for feeling. I felt bad for feeling bad. I had sympathy but was taught to punish myself any time I felt it. When I found out I was a shard…”

I wish I could hate him.

But he’s tearing up and he sounds so passionate I know he’s not faking.

I uncuff his wrists and hand him the soup.

“Eat. It’s homemade, should still be warm.”

“I don’t deserve-”

“Sn-Albert. Eat.”

He takes a sip.

“You’ve done really shitty stuff. And you did keep me in chains for about 9 months. But I’m going to give you a chance. You-You were raised by the Spider. That must’ve been really rough. I want to give you a chance to learn. Learn more about us, about how we’re humans. Learn about Santa Fe. See that Jack isn’t weak, that he just cares. I want to get to know you, I think. I need space first, but I’ll come visit your room every so often. Y-You deserve a chance.”

I wish I could hate him.

I feel too nice, letting him off this easy.

But it’s what I feel.

He’s an asshole, but it’s the Spider’s fault.

I think we can help him.

Santa Fe is a magical place, it can really help people grow into who they’re meant to be.

And who knows, maybe Albert is meant to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we will keep getting more albo backstory throughout the story.
> 
> HAPPY NEW YEAR! I didn't post a bunch in 2019, but I'm just so grateful to have this platform where I can share my thoughts and feelings about newsies without being judged. I can shamelessly post as much weird-ass newsies fanfiction as I want, and you guys make it so great with your comments and kudos. I love y'all, and I can't wait for 2020 with more fics!

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know what you think!


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